1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel (PDP), and more particularly, to a design for a PDP that improves luminous efficiency and can operate effectively with low driving voltages.
2. Description of the Related Art
The PDP flat panel display is very thin, light-weight, has a large screen, superior picture quality, and a wide viewing angle. In addition, the PDP can be simply manufactured and easily made to have a large size compared to that of other flat display apparatuses. Accordingly, the PDP is considered to be a next-generation large flat display apparatus.
PDPs are divided into direct current (DC)-PDPs, alternating current (AC)-PDPs, and hybrid PDPs based on the applied discharge voltage. PDPs can further be classified into facing surfaces discharge PDPs and surface discharge PDPs based on the discharge structure.
In DC-PDPs, all electrodes are exposed to a discharge space and charges directly move between corresponding electrodes. In AC-PDPs, at least one electrode is covered with a dielectric layer and a discharge occurs with the aid of wall charges and without the direct movement of charges between corresponding electrodes.
DC-PDPs are disadvantageous in that electrodes may be badly damaged due to direct contact with moving charges between the electrodes. For this reason, recently, AC-PDPs and particularly AC-PDPs having a three-electrode surface discharge structure are often used.
Often, designs for a three electrode surface AC type PDP place electrodes and other layers on the front substrate. This is problematical because visible light that is generated in the display must pass through the same front substrate to be viewed. As a result, much of the visible light never reaches the outside of the display, causing luminous efficiency to decrease.
By having electrodes on the front panel, the plasma must start near the front panel side of the discharge cell, which produces an awkward and an inefficient discharge. Also, such an arrangement of the electrodes and the phosphor layers also results in ions from the plasma to sputter the phosphor layer, especially when the same image is viewed over time, producing a permanent image sticking.
When electrodes are placed on the front substrate, a transparent but highly resistive material is also used for the electrodes thus causing a voltage drop along the electrode and a decay in driving speed and response time. Therefore, what is needed is an improved design for a PDP that overcomes the above problems.